Sidney E.
Yelp
Though I've driven past Atlanta Motor Speedway several times, yesterday was my maiden voyage into the stands. As I entered to discover an abundance of FREE parking, I thought, "Wow, I already like this place more than Philips Arena, Turner Field, or the Georgia Dome." I walked through the ticketing area while drinking a bottle of water, expecting the personnel to ask me to throw it away, but no. No one cared that I brought in my own drink! In fact, I soon realized that Atlanta Motor Speedway allows race fans to bring their own beer & food, and it's okay to smoke too! I'm amazed by how liberal and fan-friendly Atlanta Motor Speedway is, because there is no way that Philips Arena, Turner Field, or the Georgia Dome would permit fans to bring in their own food & drinks or allow smoking. I attended a Friday Night Drags show, but these policies are no different during a NASCAR event. Tickets were general admission, and there really isn't a bad seat in the house. You can even leave your seat and stand against the gate for the entire night if your legs can handle hours of standing and if you're wearing earplugs and/or headphones, because THE COLLECTIVE ROAR OF THE ENGINES IS DEAFENING! The Friday Night Drags show featured straightaway racing amongst practically every vehicle that you'd want to see go head-to-head: sports cars, muscle cars, imports, trucks, motorcycles, dirt bikes, ATVs, and go-carts. Some of the races were exciting and close calls, whereas others were obvious mismatches. And though the crowd was more diverse than I expected, there were more than a handful of mullets in attendance. LOL Wow, I can't remember the last time I saw a mullet before this outing. When will people learn? Unless you've thrice saved the world and your code name is "Solid Snake," you should not be sporting a mullet! To be fair though, the full gamut of southern stereotypes was represented, including plenty of eye candy in the form of cute girls wearing cowboy boots and short shorts. :)
I'm not a racing enthusiast, but my experience at Atlanta Motor Speedway was a refreshingly nice change of pace. The place and the people seem to evoke the nostalgic comfort of simpler, and perhaps happier, times. For example, there was an evangelist near the ticketing area whom carried a sign that read, "Jesus loves you," and he warmly smiled as he greeted everyone with messages such as, "You all have a good night." Now, let's juxtapose what I just described against what I saw when I last went to Philips Arena, which was a religious zealot holding a sign that read, "YOU WILL BURN IN HELL!" Yep, simpler and happier times.